A look at Chase drivers heading to Kansas

Here's a look at the 12 Chase contenders as they head to Kansas for this weekend's Cup race.

 

       1. Mark Martin: 5,400 points. Has an average finish of 13.1 at Kansas with 1 win, 2 top fives and 3 top 10s in eight starts. …Has finished 1^st (New Hampshire) and 2^nd (Dover) in the Chase. … Has five consecutive top-five finishes since placing 31^st at Michigan when he ran out of fuel at the end or he would have had a top-10. … Juan Pablo Montoya said after Dover that he thought Martin was the strongest car in the Chase, stronger than Jimmie Johnson.

 

         2. Jimmie Johnson: 5,390 points. Has an average finish of 10.4 at Kansas with 1 win (last year), 2 top fives and 5 top 10s in 7 starts. … Car he’s using this weekend has one start. Drove it at Atlanta a few weeks ago when he started third but finished 36^th because of a broken axle. … Has placed fourth (New Hampshire) and first (Dover) in the Chase. … Has led in 9 of the last 10 races. … Victory at Dover gives him 15 wins in 52 Chase races, a winning percentage of 28.8.

 

       3. Juan Pablo Montoya: 5,335 points. Has an average finish of 24.0 at Kansas with no wins, no top fives and no top 10s in 2 starts. … Finished third (New Hampshire) and fourth (Dover) in Chase. … For the third consecutive Chase race, Montoya will have a new chassis at Kansas. … Has scored top-10s in each of the last four races on 1.5-mile tracks.

 

      4. Kurt Busch: 5,325 points. Has an average finish of 20.8 with no wins, no top fives and 2 top 10s in eight starts at Kansas. … Finished sixth (New Hampshire) and fifth (Dover) in the first two Chase races. … Busch will drive a new chassis this weekend.

 

      5. Tony Stewart: 5,294 points. Has an average finish of 14.8 with 1 win, 3 top fives and five top 10s in eight starts at Kansas. … Enters race after 14^th (New Hampshire) and 9^th (Dover) in the Chase. … Using an old Haas-CNC Chassis that has been modified. Stewart has run it twice this season, finishing fourth at Texas in the spring with it and seventh at Michigan in June. … Has led at least a lap in only one of the last five races. … Has finished 39^th and 40^th in last two Kansas races.

     

     6. Denny Hamlin: 5,292 points. Has an average finish of 22.5 with 0 wins, 0 top fives and 0 top 10s at Kansas. …Placed 2^nd (New Hampshire) and 22^nd (Dover) in the Chase. … Dover finish snapped a streak of seven consecutive top-10 finishes, which included two wins during that stretch. … Will use the same car at Kansas that he drove at New Hampshire to open the Chase. … Kansas was the site of Hamlin’s Cup debut four years ago.

   

     7. Ryan Newman: 5,290 points. Has an average finish of 18.0 with 1 win, 3 top fives and 3 top 10s in 8 starts at Kansas. … Placed 7^th (New Hampshire) and 10^th (Dover) in first two Chase races. … Has scored five consecutive top-10s entering Kansas. … Has not had a top 10 in last five Kansas races.

 

     8. Jeff Gordon: 5,278 points. Has an average finish of 9.8 with 2 wins, 5 top fives and 6 top 10s in 8 starts at Kansas. … Placed 15^th (New Hampshire) and 6^th (Dover) in the first two Chase races. … Has three top-10 finishes in the last four races.

 

     9. Greg Biffle: 5,262 points. Has an average finish of 9.9 with 1 win, 4 top fives and 4 top 10s in 7 starts at Kansas. … Placed 9^th (New Hampshire) and 13^th (Dover) in the first two Chase races. … Has finished 13^th or better in each of the last five races. … Will dive a new chassis this weekend.

 

     10.  Brian Vickers: 5,249 points. Has an average finish of 13.3 with 0 wins, 0 top fives and 1 top 10 in four starts at Kansas. … Has placed 11^th (New Hampshire) and 18^th (Dover) in first two Chase races. …Dover finish was the first time in 11 races he had finished outside the top 12.

 

     11. Carl Edwards: 5,247 points. … Has an average finish of 14.0 with 0 wins, 2 top fives and 3 top 10s in 5 starts at Kansas. … Has placed 17^th (New Hampshire) and 11^th (Dover) in first two Chase races. … Dover finish was his best in the last five races. … Last drove the chassis he’ll race this weekend at Michigan in June where he finished fourth. …

 

     12. Kasey Kahne: 5,211 points. … Has an average finish of 18.8 with 0 wins, 0 top fives and 1 top 10 in 5 starts at Kansas. … Has placed 38^th (New Hampshire) and 8^th (Dover) in first two Chase races. … For second week in a row, he’ll use the older Dodge engine after the newer version blew at New Hampshire and dropped him to last in the Chase.

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